Supporting teacher-student relationships in secondary education: a comprehensive framework and tool for teacher professional development

High-quality teacher–student relationships are essential for the wellbeing and effective functioning of both teachers and students in secondary education. Despite their importance, no comprehensive tool currently exists to support teachers in purposefully developing these relationships with young adolescents. To address this gap, this design paper presents an in-service professional development tool for early secondary school teachers. The tool is grounded in a conceptual framework of teacher–student relationships, informed by attachment theory. The framework was adapted into a pedagogical model that positions teachers as agents of change in the development of their relationships with students. Based on this model, broad teacher competencies could be specified into practical, relationship-building capacities. To strengthen these competencies, targeted learning materials were developed, including a theoretical guide and three sets of exercises. These materials are designed to enhance affiliative teacher behaviors in daily classroom interactions, while also promoting teachers' reflective practice on teacher-student relational representations, teacher characteristics, and systemic influences—acknowledging the complexity of relationship building in classrooms. So far, the plausible effectiveness of the VIP Toolkit is supported, setting the stage for future empirical effectiveness research. By centering relational practices within professional development, this approach potentially expands traditional conceptions of teacher learning and may empower educators as key agents in shaping supportive classroom dynamics.